1. Field
The present disclosure relates to at least partially reducing the power consumption of a mass storage device and, more particularly, to a method and device for at least partially reducing the power consumption of a mass storage device.
2. Background Information
In this context, a mass storage device may be characterized as any device used to provide relatively inexpensive storage, such as, for example, a couple hundred dollars, of relatively large amounts of data, such as, for example, a hundred megabytes or more, in either digital or analog form; however, the disclosed subject matter is not limited to any price or storage capacity. While a mass storage device may comprise may forms, some, but not all, examples of a mass storage device may include: flash memory, cassette storage, tape storage, optical storage, or a hard disk drive.
As a specific example of a mass storage device, a hard disk drive (also referred to as a “hard drive” or “hard disk”) typically comprises a device that reads and writes digital data typical upon at least one rigid disk of magnetic or magnetically coated material, rotating in a sealed housing. In this context, the terms “digital data” and “digital format” refer to data represented in discrete, discontinuous form, as contrasted with analog data, which is represented in a continuous form. Digital data usually implies the use of binary digits; however, the term digital data is not limited to binary digits and may utilize any radix.
Typically, mass storage devices are used in information handling platforms. In this context, an information handling platform includes a system, which is capable of accepting and at least possibly manipulating information, possibly in a variety of formats and modes, and in part stores digital data using a mass storage device. A few, but not all, examples of an information handling platform include computers, digital video recorders, or digital audio devices which may receive audio information via, for example, removable media or possibly a network connection, and store the audio information on the mass storage device.
A mass storage device is often one of the components of an information storage platform that consumes a large amount of power, such as, for example, about 2 Watts (W); however, the disclosed subject matter is not limited to any particular wattage. As an example, an information handling platform, such as, for example, a notebook computer, may utilize a mass storage device, such as, for example, a hard disk drive. The power consumption of the notebook's hard disk drive will typically reduce the amount of time the notebook computer may operate from battery power. A need, therefore, exists for an improved device or technique for at least partially reducing the power consumption of a mass storage device.